Evans: A boring Broncos free agency just might be a good thing
Mar 19, 2018, 5:03 PM | Updated: 5:03 pm
Here are some of my thoughts and observations on free agency and the Denver Broncos:
» My guess is Broncos Country was probably expecting more out of free agency this year.
I can’t blame them, based on what they’ve witnessed before. Peyton Manning, DeMarcus Ware, T.J. Ward, and Aqib Talib, along with the Brock Osweiler and Calais Campbell adventures, certainly created plenty of free agent buzz.
This year has been boring.
Sure, they got Case Keenum. But my sense is fans have been spending the last week trying to talk themselves into the idea of Keenum more than being convinced he’s the guy.
But the lack of free agent electricity isn’t a bad thing. Free agency isn’t supposed to be the way you fix everything. It’s to fix a hole here and there, to add a piece.
The Broncos previous free agent splashes were abnormal. For a Broncos team coming off 5-11, there is no magic fix in free agency.
It’s time the Broncos do it the old-fashioned way, through the draft.
» The Keenum signing makes it clear the Broncos can’t take a QB at No. 5.
Taking a quarterback at No. 5 would create a puzzling scenario for Denver after general manager John Elway professed his admiration for Keenum and went to great lengths to convince everyone he was who the club wanted over Kirk.
You would either be benching the guy you supposedly targeted and are paying $18 million a year or benching the guy you picked to be your quarterback of the future and should be playing right away for a team that went 5-11 last season.
» Draft a quarterback, but draft him late first round/early second.
Pick my guy, Kyle Lauletta, from Richmond.
He has decent size, impeccable mechanics, accuracy and the kind of character you’d expect from the son of a Navy captain.
He’s just as likely to become a star as any of the more ballyhooed quarterback that you’d be over-drafting at No. 5.
» The Jets-Colts trade that moved New York up to No. 3 is intriguing on many fronts.
I believe the Jets want Baker Mayfield, and the Broncos’ continued interest in the Oklahoma prospect may have prompted the New York to jump ahead of Denver out of panic.
If that’s the case, good job Elway, because this guarantees a good player — a non-quarterback – will drop down to Denver.
If the Broncos want to take a Saquon Barkley, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Quenton Nelson, or Bradley Chubb, there’s a good chance all, or most, of those players will be available.
The trade was also interesting because of the haul the Indianapolis received — two second-round picks this year plus one next year, all to just move back three spots.
That’s enticing if the Broncos want to move back to, say, No. 12 in a trade with Buffalo.
I cringe at the “absolute” nature of the draft that so many profess. The idea of drafting a player at No. 12 instead of No. 5 must mean you’re passing on a better player.
That’s ridiculous.
Again, the draft isn’t absolute. The more picks the better. If the Broncos can trade back with Buffalo, do it.
» If they do pick at No. 5, I hope the Denver doesn’t pass on Nelson just because you’re not supposed to take a guard that high.
The NFL is changing. The game is played in the middle of the field. You need to have a good slot receiver. You need to have a play-making tight end. You need to have strong safeties, linebackers (more on that in a moment), and pass-rushing interior defensive linemen.
That means you better have good interior offensive lineman.
Have you seen how much money free agent guards have been getting paid? If you can get a guard and put him in your lineup for the next decade-plus and keep him under cost control for the next five years, that would be a great move.
Isn’t the idea of the draft to find impact players? So you’re supposed to pass on that kind of a guy just because he’s not supposed to be drafted there?
How dumb is that?
» I placed the odds of both Todd Davis and Brandon Marshall returning at about 40-60.
I’m surprised they’re both back.
Those two struggled to defend running backs (see the Patriots game) and tight ends (see just about every other game).
The middle of the field requires athletes who can run and defend. The days of the marauding linebacker racking up huge tackle numbers are long gone.
The need to bring back both Davis and Marshall comes from Denver’s inability to develop younger linebackers and the need to address other positions in the draft instead.
